


the wildlife found in the city

by EzzyDean



Series: Ivy Manor Apartments [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 03:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12572756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: “Okay.”  Hajime spins in circles in his desk chair, only half watching the video being recorded on the screen.  “So I have to be blunt here Sprouts.”  He makes one final spin and props his elbow on the desk, chin in hand, and stares directly into the camera.  “And I have to ask you all.  This started off as some silly little gardening thing.  Videos about the garden I convinced them to let me set up on the roof.  Me rambling about the garden my mother used to have.  But now all I do is wander around the building and annoy my neighbors.  So.  Why the fuck is this so popular?  Why are you all here?”Ryuu pops up behind him and Hajime almost falls out of his chair in surprise.“Why the fuck do you like this grumpy hedgehog so much?”aka that fic where Ryuu is pining hardcore for the cute guy in the elevator who is built like a brick house and Hajime is his friend who loves to watch him suffer while recording it for his popular vlog.





	the wildlife found in the city

“Seriously Hajime,” Ryuu groans.  The tall man in the corner sniffles delicately at the volume of his voice and Ryuu glances back with an apologetic look.

 

“Inside voice,” Hajime teases.

 

Ryuu glares at him, face flushed.  “Fine,” he switches easily into Greek, “but seriously Hajime.  How is it that every single time in the last three weeks that I’ve stopped by this male model with an ass like a marble statue that’s impressive even in baggy sweatpants, is in the elevator with us?”

 

Hajime simply blinks at Ryuu.

 

“You’re being paranoid,” Hajime replies in Greek.  “But honestly you should do something.  All this sexual tension wafting off of you can’t be good for your health.”

 

Ryuu growls at Hajime and storms off the elevator the moment the doors open.

 

“Is your friend alright?” asks the man in the corner of the elevator.  He gestures for Hajime to get off first and follows him towards the front door.  “He seems a bit stressed.”

 

Hajime laughs.  “Yeah that’s just kind of the way he is.  Have a good day.”

 

The man nods and holds the door open for Hajime.  “You as well.”

 

—

 

“Today, Sprouts, we’re going to the top floor.”  Hajime sweeps his phone around to show off the elevator and then flips it back towards himself.  “That’s right.  We’re visiting… The Roost.”

 

He grins charmingly at his phone, making a silly face as the elevator doors open and two men step inside.  They’re both clad in running gear, sweat darkening their clothes, and Hajime lets his phone pan over them slowly.  They’re not just covered in sweat.  They both have an array of bruises and scrapes of various stages of healing though neither seem even remotely bothered by it.  Other than the one with his hair pulled into a messy bun rubbing idly at a scratch on the back of his hand.

 

“Oh hey Hajime,” Issei says when he realizes they’re not alone in the elevator.

 

“Hey Issei.  Hello Asahi,” he adds.

 

“Ah,” Asahi startles a little, “hello Hajime.”  Then his eyes narrow and he sighs disappointingly.  “Are you recording now?  You know we asked you to keep us out of it.”

 

Hajime grins at the stern look on Asahi’s face.  “Whoops?”

 

The elevator dings on their floor and the other two men step out.  Issei’s hand shoots back out and catches the door before it closes.  He leans back in with a frown.

 

“Seriously Hajime.”

 

“Fine I’ll cut most of it out.  Just a shot of your pretty faces or your nice butts or something.”

 

Issei laughs.  “Whatever.  Just remember that it’s Asahi who will come after you if you go too far.”

 

“Duly noted,” Hajime calls out as the elevator doors slide shut.  He sighs dramatically and swings the camera back to his own face.  “Seriously Sprouts.  Those two are unfairly attractive.  Have we ended the poll on what exactly it is that those two handsome men do for work?  If not I say we’re giving it another week and then I’ll share the gritty details of the Matsukawa-Azumane household.  Or at least the deets they let me get away with sharing.”  The elevator dings and he punches in his code to get into the top floor.

 

He pans the camera around and shows off the stylish surroundings.  The wooden floors shine in the afternoon light.  The sleek bar in the corner glows under the soft lighting set in and around it.  Warm, soft couches and chairs are spread around the majority of the empty space.  The flowering plants in the corners are looking bright and lively and he smiles at the sight; it’s good to know that at least someone in these upper floors knows how to take care of his plants.

 

“This, my friends, is The Roost.  One of the biggest bonuses of getting into this place.  And one of the biggest secrets,” he adds in a stage whisper as the door on the far side of the the lounge opens.

 

Koushi sweeps into the lounge, elegant and regal looking until he spots Hajime then he folds into himself with a groan.

 

“And here I thought it was a paying customer.”  Koushi leans against the bar and gestures to Hajime’s camera.  “One question and then that thing gets shut off or I take it into my apartment and you never see it again.”

 

There’s a sparkle in Koushi’s eyes that alarms Hajime.  But it doesn’t stop him any.

 

“What’s with the threats today?  Sheesh.”

 

“Is that your question?”

 

Hajime pouts but it’s nowhere near as powerful as Koushi’s pouts so it doesn’t really do anything.

 

“Ugh fine.  Be that way.”

 

Koushi grins at him.  “Oh I will.  I’ll be any way I want to be.”

 

Hajime swings the phone up and hooks his arm around Koushi’s neck to reel him in close.

 

“So.  Koushi.  The Sprouts and I all have one pressing question in mind when we see you.”

 

“Go on.”  Koushi’s face and tone show mild indulgence while his eyes sparkle with amusement.

 

“Did it hurt?”

 

The smile dies on his face and Koushi pouts.  It’s a thousand times more powerful and if he wasn’t a taken man Hajime might just swoon at that sight.

 

“Let me guess when I fell from heaven?  You need better pickup lines Hajime.”

 

“I am a taken man Koushi I don’t need pickup lines at all.  But no.  The question is: did it hurt when you crawled your way up from hell?”

 

It takes a few seconds for the question to sink in.  The moment it does Koushi’s entire face lights up like a sunrise and Hajime has to look at it through the camera.  It’s too brilliant to look at straight on.  Koushi bursts out laughing and doubles over, tears gathering in his eyes as he peers up at Hajime.

 

“Okay,” Koushi gasps out, “okay that was a decent one.  You can stay.  But the camera gets shut off.”

 

Hajime complies and sets his phone on the counter.  Once Koushi manages to catch his breath Hajime props his chin in his hands and asks, “So have you heard about Ryuu’s big crush?”

 

—

 

“Okay.”  Hajime spins in circles in his desk chair, only half watching the video being recorded on the screen.  “So I have to be blunt here Sprouts.”  He makes one final spin and props his elbow on the desk, chin in hand, and stares directly into the camera.  “And I have to ask you all.  This started off as some silly little gardening thing.  Videos about the garden I convinced them to let me set up on the roof.  Me rambling about the garden my mother used to have.  But now all I do is wander around the building and annoy my neighbors.  So.  Why the fuck is this so popular?  Why are you all here?”

 

Ryuu pops up behind him and Hajime almost falls out of his chair in surprise.

 

“Why the fuck do you like this grumpy hedgehog so much?”

 

Hajime spins in his chair and knocks Ryuu onto the floor with the motion and then launches himself at Ryuu in one smooth motion.  He almost wrestles Ryuu into a headlock but Ryuu squirms out of it at the last moment and flips them so he’s straddling Hajime.

 

Hajime winks at him and then jerks his hips up and throws Ryuu off him, pinning him to the floor easily.

 

“You know if all you wanted was to make out you could have just asked.”

 

Ryuu punches him in the side and rolls away.

 

“While making out isn’t a horrible idea sadly I came to remind you that you have your appointment in an hour.”

 

Hajime jerks his head up to check the time and leaps to his feet.  He smacks the button to end the recording and hurries out of the room.

 

“Lock the door on your way out,” he calls over his shoulder.  The door slams and Ryuu pulls himself off the floor.

 

He taps the keyboard and starts recording again.

 

“Just remember, Sprouts.  Hajime is not a role model.  Okay?  He’s a grumpy hedgehog with horrible manners and a shitty memory when it comes to appointments.  I’m also pretty sure he’s a serial flirter and a huge gossip.”  Ryuu winks at the camera and blows a kiss before ending the recording again.

 

—

 

Hajime shuts the door softly and sneaks through the apartment.  His voice is soft when he speaks.

 

“Now.  We have to be quiet and sneak up on the Ryuunosuke.  He can be a crafty bugger and can be deadly when awoken.”  The bedroom door creaks open and Hajime winces but slips inside.  He sweeps the camera around the room quickly and then zeroes in on the bed.  “Should he be startled awake he might try to eat me.”  He flips the camera back to himself and grins.  “And I’m a taken man.  So that’s a no-no everyone.”

 

“I ever even gave you keys.  How the fuck do you keep getting into my apartment?  Fuck did you bribe Suga or something?”

 

Iwaizumi stills, camera zooming in on the lump of blankets on the bed.

 

“We need to be careful.  Rampaging Ryuunosuke’s can be deadly if provoked.”

 

The blankets fly off the bed and Ryuu launches himself at Hajime.

 

—

 

“Hajime just kill me now and end my suffering,” Ryuu hisses in Greek the moment Hajime steps into the elevator.  He just finished visiting with Kyoutani and was on his way down to meet Ryuu in the lobby for a run through the park.

 

“Well hello to you too, Ryuu.”  Hajime nods to the other men in the elevator.  The tall one that Ryuu’s been crushing on for weeks nods back and the man next to him grins.

 

“What is it this time?”  Hajime switches into Greek as well.  “Obsessed with his cologne?  His pants too tight?  You want to suck face with him like a horny teenager?”  It may be a little harsh but Hajime has been listening to this unraveling of Ryuu’s nerves over his giant crush for weeks now.  At least every few days they’re all in the elevator and Ryuu hisses Greek at Hajime and waxes poetic about some feature of the man and Hajime just wants to spin Ryuu around and shove him into the corner and hope they make out just to ease his sanity a little.  He loves Ryuu, he does, but damn he can been irritating when he’s all pining and whiny.

 

“He’s so gorgeous and fit and he’s wearing a fucking tank top Hajime.  I’ve been trying not to drool over arms that could crush me for three floors now.  Which, by the way, why did you get on here and not on your own floor?  Never mind,” he rushes on before Hajime can even answer.  Not that he was going to try.  He’s know Ryuu long enough to know better.  “And now?  Now I want to climb him like a fucking tree I am so fucked Hajime why me?”

 

Hajime says something placating to Ryuu and half listens to Ryuu’s next rant but he’s more focused on the sudden conversation behind him.

 

“Hey.  Hey.  They’re speaking Greek aren’t they?”

 

The tall man tries to hush his companion.   
  
“Aren’t they?”

 

“Yes Tendou.  They are.  Now please be quiet.”

 

“What are they saying?  Are they making fun of me?  Are they making fun of you?”

 

“Hush.  No they’re not talking about you.”

 

“Well then what are they saying?”

 

The tall man sighs softly and Hajime snorts.  He understands that feeling.

 

“If it will satisfy your curiosity.  Tanaka is talking to Iwaizumi about climbing.”

 

Ryuu’s voice trails off and he goes stiff beside Hajime when he hears his name, finally realizing that the men behind them are speaking.  Hajime glances at the floor levels and wonders if Ryuu is going to survive the ride past the final three floors.

 

“What like climbing a tree?  Wall climbing?  Oh,” Tendou says excitedly, “do they know if there’s an indoor climbing place around here?”

 

Hajime can practically hear Ryuu blushing.  Which is an impressive feat even for Ryuu.

 

“Me,” the tall man states calmly.

 

“What?”

 

“He wants to climb me.  Like a tree.”

 

The elevator stops and the door slides open and before Hajime can stop him Ryuu shoves his way past a startled looking Yamaguchi.  There’s still two floors to go before they hit the lobby.  But before they get there Ryuu is long gone.

 

—

 

It’s three days before Ryuu even starts returning his texts.  A week before he responds with more than one or two words.  A week and a half before he agrees to go on a run with Hajime.  Two weeks before he actually speaks to him face to face again.

 

Two weeks and three days after the Elevator Incident Ryuu barges into Hajime’s apartment.

 

“Okay,” he starts, “we’re still friends.  But I can’t believe you let me go on and on like that.”  Hajime blinks up at him from the couch, honestly surprised into silence at the sight of Ryuu in his apartment.  He was pretty sure Ryuu had work today.  Or one of his classes to supervise.  Ryuu continues on, oblivious to Hajime’s surprise.  “You let me ramble about how much I liked his ass in those sweatpants and listened to me talk about what we would name our dogs and the kind of plants we’d buy for our porch and you just-”

 

Movement in the kitchen draws Ryuu’s attention and his mouth snaps shut.

 

“Uh, Ryuu.  Meet my new roommate.  Who moved in last month but has been busy with work a lot so he’s almost never here.  Ushijima.  This is one of my good friends.  Tanaka.”

 

Ryuu’s mouth starts opening and closing like a fish gasping for air and he makes a choked noise before he can finally spit out, “I gotta go,” before booking it back out of the apartment.

 

Wakatoshi gives Hajime a confused look.

 

“Is there something about me that your friend finds displeasing?  Because the way he discussed me in the elevator I felt that he liked me rather a lot for someone who hadn’t actually spoken to me.”

 

Hajime runs a hand down his face.  “No.  It’s the opposite.”

 

“Oh.  Was he not talking about me?  I thought he was.”

 

Hajime digs his phone out and raises a finger so he can type out a quick message to Ryuu to apologize about  not warning him about his new roommate.  Then he sighs and looks back at Wakatoshi.

 

“Oh no.  He was talking about you.  He just likes you a lot and feels like an idiot now because I never told him you spoke Greek also.”

 

Wakatoshi gives him a sad look and gestures to the end of the couch to ask if he can sit and Hajime nods.

 

“That was an inconsiderate thing to do, Iwaizumi.  Especially if you knew he didn’t realize I understood what he was saying.”

 

Hajime knows.  He feels guilty enough as it is.

 

“Yeah but he makes really funny faces when he gets flustered and this is kind of payback for all the times he’s given me shit over my crushes.”  Wakatoshi makes an unsure noise.  “It’s just how we are.  We’ll be fine again in a few days.”

 

“Your friendship with him confuses me, Iwaizumi.”

 

Hajime snorts and taps out another message to Ryuu.  “Yeah we get that a lot.”

 

—

 

Ryuu groans when he looks up from the couch and sees Hajime hovering in his doorway with his phone out.

 

“Here we see Ryuunosuke in his natural habitat, covered in blankets doing his best impression of a couch cushion.”  Ryuu flips him off and curls deeper into the blankets.  “Will the fierce predator survive his trip to the watering hole-”

 

“I am not going to your dumb party at the bar.”

 

“-or will he wallow in despair and die an unmated husk of his former self?”

 

“I hate you,” Ryuu grumbles a half hour later when Hajime drags him down the hall to the bathroom.  “You’re a nuisance,” he hisses when Hajime hands him a change of clothes after his shower.  “I don’t even know why we’re friends,” he says as Hajime shoves him through the door of the bar with a laugh.

 

“Love you too,” Hajime replies.

 

An hour later Hajime spots Ryuu standing near the booth that Wakatoshi and his friends are sitting at.  Ryuu looks sheepish as Hajime sidles up to them.

 

“The Ryuunosuke has found a potential mate,” Hajime whispers in Ryuu’s ear.  “But will he be successful in his courting dance or will he flounder?”  Ryuu startles and jumps away from Hajime, nearly falling into Wakatoshi’s lap.  Hajime laughs as he slips away from them and watches as Ryuu apologizes and blushes and trips over his words.

 

Hajime pulls out his phone and looks over at them in time to see Ryuu’s face turn even redder than before.

 

“Floundering it is,” he calls out across the bar.

 

He points the camera on his phone at Ryuu just in time for it to focus on Ryuu mouthing “Fuck you,” at him from across the bar.

 

“Oh, sorry.”  Hajime flips his phone’s camera and grins at it.  “Iwaizumi’s mate for life.  Better luck next lifetime.”  He switches back and focuses on Ryuu trying to talk to Wakatoshi.  “But I have faith in you.  Go, Ryuunosuke.  Claim your mate.”

 

—

 

The soft music in the grocery store makes Hajime sleepy and he shuffles after Ryuu on autopilot.  All he knows is that he’s tired and hungry and Ryuu insisted on stopping on the way back after their run.  Hajime always followed the whole ‘never shop for groceries on an empty stomach’ thing and he’s glad.  Because right now he wants to devour every thing he sees on the shelves.  Even the bland tasteless crackers that he knows Koushi fills his cupboards with like their gold and he’s a dragon look delicious to Hajime right now.

 

He gets distracted by a brightly colored packaging that takes him a few minutes to figure out what exactly it’s for and when he looks up Ryuu is nowhere to be found.

 

He sighs and pulls out his phone to start recording.

 

“Here we are Sprouts.  At the local grocery store or as I like to call it, Temptation Island.”  He pans the camera up and down the aisle he’s currently wandering.  Of course it’s the sweet goods.  “This is not the place to be when you’ve just spent a good portion of your morning out on a healthy run.  But I have lost Ryuu somewhere in this cavern of sweet morsels and am taking you on the adventure to find him.”

 

Ten minutes and five aisles of commentary later Hajime finds Ryuu poring over the meats.

 

“And here we see the might Ryuunosuke on the hunt.  He must select only the best prey to sustain his active lifestyle and impress his potential mate.”

 

“Turn that camera off or I won’t make you any curry this week.  Or the next.”

 

Hajime grimaces into the camera.  “The hungry Ryuunosuke is an easily angered one,” he warns, eyes going wide as the screen darkens and Ryuu yanks the phone out of his grip.  “Yikes.”

 

Ryuu picks out what he wants and waits for it to be wrapped up and he spends the time waiting doing productive things.  Like staring at Hajime with an unimpressed look.

 

“Okay I’m sorry.  I’m being a dick.  Ushijima’s friend didn’t leave until late last night and then I couldn’t sleep well and I’m sleepy and grouchy and taking it out on you.”

 

“Two days with no curry.”

 

“Thank you for forgiving me, oh Great and Wise Ryuunosuke.”

 

—

 

It’s been a long day and all Hajime wants is a long night of sleep.  Which of course means he has a text from Ryuu telling him to ‘please come pick up the shit you left here last week before my sister steals it’ and he braces himself on the ride up to Ryuu’s apartment to face the whirlwind that is Saeko.  He barely notices Kuroo and Kageyama step into the elevator and press the button for The Roost.  He barely notices that he almost walks straight into Yamaguchi when he goes to get off on Ryuu’s floor; which is not Yamaguchi’s floor at all.

 

He pauses outside Ryuu’s door, takes a deep breath, and heads inside.

 

It’s like a small tornado has taken up residence in Ryuu’s apartment.  Saeko is on one of her cleaning sprees so intense they spill over into the homes of her friends and family members.

 

Hajime, of course, takes out his phone and starts filming the chaos of Ryuu’s hallway and kitchen.

 

“Now, Sprouts.  Many of you may not know this but the Ryuunosuke is a pack animal.  Not a pack rat.  Just a pack animal.  The closest member of his pack - save for yours truly and the man he is trying to woo - is, without a doubt, his sister.”  Hajime nearly trips over a pile of sweaters in the middle of the kitchen floor.  He spots his bag of clothes and DVDs from last week on the counter but before he can grab it and hightail it back out he hears Saeko scolding Ryuu just outside the kitchen.  He pokes his head and phone out the doorway.  “Ah now here we see the Ryuunosuke with his sister.  The-”

 

Saeko growls at him and smacks his phone into a pile of shirts and shoes at his feet.  He goes to grab it at the same time she does and after a lengthy scuffle where Ryuu tries to sneak out of the apartment and Saeko reels him back in by his pant leg, Hajime is back in possession of his phone.  A quick glance at the screen shows him visibly disheveled with what he thinks might be a bruise from Saeko’s pointy elbow starting on his cheek.

 

“The Saeko,” Hajime says calmly. “is not to be filmed on threat of death.  My death.  A threat I wholly believe.”  The Tanaka siblings start arguing in the background and Hajime just stares into the camera and shakes his head.  

 

He leaves a half hour later with his bag of stuff, a box of things that Saeko told him to take so she never has to look at them again, and a bag of stuff Ryuu asked him to smuggle out until Saeko leaves.  Once he’s back in his own apartment he dumps the box of stuff into Ryuu’s bag and leaves it all near the door for Ryuu to grab later.

 

—

 

A calico cat flops on the ground at his feet and Hajime laughs.

 

“Okay Sprouts.  This is Kyoutani’s fat cat.  He’s kind of a douche, like his owner.”  Kentarou snorts and dumps a handful of vegetables into the pan on his stove.  “He also likes to bite and scratch me, like his owner.”  Kentarou snorts even louder and dumps some other ingredients into the pan.  “Lets introduce him to… a laser pointer!”

 

Hajime pulls a pointer out of his pocket and dangles it in front of his phone.

 

Kentarou shakes his head and doesn’t even bother looking over.

 

“Fine but he just ate so if you get him so wound up he pukes somewhere you’re cleaning it up.”

 

“If I get him to climb your leg do I get anything?”

 

“You get no dinner and kicked out of my apartment for a week.”

 

“Why do you all withhold food as punishment?  You’re so cruel.  Do you want me to waste away and starve?”

 

Kentarou glances over his shoulder, straight at the camera, and smirks.  “No we just keep hoping you’ll wind up begging Sugawara or Shigeru for food.  Because that shit?  That would make for amazing video content.”

 

—

 

Things are going smoothly in the romance department.

 

Not for Ryuu.  Oh fuck no.  Ryuu’s still floundering around like a trout on a beach.  Hajime’s love life, on the other hand, is as smooth as a well polished river pebble.  And he’s never more glad for it than the moment he walks into his own apartment and strongly debates walking right back out and heading to his boyfriend’s place instead.

 

Because, unlike Ryuu, Hajime believes that the person he likes, likes him back and the last conversation Hajime ever wanted to walk into is the one that starts with Ryuu clenching his fists and shouting at Ushijima, “But you’re not even gay!”

 

Hajime slips past the kitchen without either of them noticing and settles on the couch.  He’s not listening to be nosy.  He’s listening in case he needs to perform damage control.  Ryuu is quick to frustration on a good day and Wakatoshi is blunter than the blunt in ‘blunt force trauma’ and he can just see a hundred different ways this could go so, so wrong.

 

“You’re not even gay,” Ryuu repeats, sounding angry and a little desperate.

 

“I am not a chef but that doesn’t stop me from cooking dinner.”

 

Ryuu makes some unintelligible noise.  “So you’re saying you’re, what?  A little gay?”

 

“As much as I am a little bit of a chef, I suppose.”  Their voices drop enough that Hajime misses a piece of the conversation and then Ryuu growls and snaps something at Wakatoshi.  “You are making this much more complicated than it is.”

 

“That’s because you’re confusing!”

 

“I fail to see what is confusing about it.”  Hajime can picture the perplexed look on Wakatoshi’s face and has to press a fist to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

 

“You are,” Ryuu shouts.  And, really, Hajime doesn’t think there’s any reason to be shouting.  But he might not be one to talk considering how his own confession went once upon a time.

 

“I am not confused at all,” Wakatoshi says calmly.

 

“No.  You are confusing.”

 

“I am sorry if I have confused you, but it seems a simple enough concept.”

 

“Yeah well your face is a simple concept.”

 

Hajime tenses.  Ryuu is quickly sliding into protective snapping territory and a few more of Wakatoshi’s well meaning but blunt comments might just shove him over the edge into unreasonableness.

 

“Well I know how you seem to enjoy simple things, seeing how upset you are over the complications of my feelings, so I will take that as a compliment.”

 

Hajime’s eyes widen so far he thinks they might pop out and he really wishes he was recording this.  Because he’s pretty sure he’s hearing Wakatoshi flirting with Ryuu.  He wants to see Ryuu’s face, wants to memorize it, but he knows if he tries to look they’ll spot him and will shut down and draw away from each other.  So he just waits and listens.

 

“What?”  Ryuu sputters.

 

“Do you not like my face?  Was that not a compliment on my appearance?”

 

“Yes?  No?  I just,” Ryuu lets out a defeated whine.  Hajime hears a thunk that he assumes is the sound of Ryuu’s head hitting the fridge.

 

There’s a long silence that Hajime assumes is Ryuu staring at the ceiling and Wakatoshi watching Ryuu.  It goes on and on and on until he can’t stand it and he breaks it.

 

“Ryuu he likes that you like his face and he likes yours too.  So now you two can play suck face and stop tiptoeing around each other.”

 

Ryuu lets out a string of surprised curses that would make Saeko proud and Hajime hops to his feet and hurries to barricade himself in his room before Ryuu catches him.

 

—

 

Hajime steps into The Roost and feels every drop of tension leave his body.  This is the place to be.  This is his home away from home, even though it’s in the same building.  Koushi steps through the door at the back and scowls when he sees Hajime.

 

“Thought it might be a paying customer,” Koushi says as he pours Hajime a drink.

 

“Are any of us ever paying customers?  Besides we pay our rents.  Doesn’t that count?”

 

They look over the group of people spread across the lounge.  Kuroo and Kageyama are bent over a chessboard near the window.  Issei and Asahi are sprawled on a couple of the couches near the center of the room with Kenma and Yamaguchi curled up in an armchair nearby reading something out of a book almost excitedly.  Kentarou joins him at the bar when he spots Hajime and a few moments later Daichi follows as well.

 

“I’m not sure what it counts for,” Koushi grumbles.  “But I suppose it counts.”

 

The elevator door opens.  Ryuu steps off the elevator and into the lounge with Wakatoshi’s hand clasped firmly in his own, blush painting his face and smile lighting it up.

 

“Six months, seventeen days,” Koushi mutters.  “Asahi the pot’s yours.”

 

The entire room goes silent for half a beat and then Ryuu is shouting about betting on friends and Issei is clapping Asahi on his back and Hajime can’t think of a better place to be than right here at the Ivy Manor Apartments.

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this post](http://ezzydean.tumblr.com/post/166898786095/we-take-the-same-elevator-every-day-and-due-to-a)
> 
> feel free to come yell at me on [tumblr](http://ezzydean.tumblr.com)


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